There's no immediate word on the status of the boy, William McQuain of Germantown.

"Our focus and priority is locating William McQuain, and we are asking the public's help," Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger said during a press conference, where it was announced that the woman's estranged husband, Curtis Lopez, was arrested in North Carolina and was charged with the murder of Jane McQuain, 51, whose body was discovered in her Germantown home on Wednesday.

"We were hoping we'd find [William] with Mr. Lopez and we did not," Manger said.

Earlier Thursday, police reported the discovery of an SUV owned by Jane McQuain. They declined to say where it had been found.

Investigators say there was trauma to her body and they consider her death a homicide, but they declined to elaborate pending an autopsy.

Authorities say William McQuain was last seen at the home on Sept. 30.

In an interview with Germantown Patch on Thursday, a local photographer who knows the family, Clark Day, said he was still digesting the shocking news. "Her world revolves around William," Day, 58, told Patch. "They were wonderful. I can't say enough nice things."